The Bulldogs and Umpires: Time for a Royal Commission?

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No idea how the Dogs have got away with it for so long.

It's clear that Beveridge encourages a gameplan that is centred around Ducking, Diving and Throwing. How they don't get called out on their bullshit is beyond me.

I hate it when the commentators use "little give" or "flicks it" - just call it for what it is FFS - If the commentators were calling it how it is - Friday night's game should have said "Treloar throws it to X - That's the 3rd time he's got away with it in the Swans forward 50 in the last 15 minutes - very lucky not to concede 3 goals"

The AFL is worse off for this type of strategy and god knows why the media muppets let it go - it will be a good thing when all coaches and players involved are no longer in the game.
I must say that I do get somewhat infuriated when they fawn over Liberatore's blatant throwing.

Some are legit and warrant praise, but the vast majority are just straight up throws. Commentators, and in particular umpires really need to differentiate between the two.


As to why the umpires let it go, it's clear that the AFL don't care. They'd rather the game move quickly, and if that means that guys chuck it constantly, then so be it.

For me personally though, I can't stand it. The handball is something that I would consider a fundamental of Australian Rules football. They can fu** around with non-fundamentals if they must, I don't care. Kick ins, man on the mark, interchange, out of bounds, whatever. If you need to tweak that stuff for 'the good of the game' then so be it.
But the true fundamentals of the game should not be sacrificed.

And coaches should not exploit this.
 
For me personally though, I can't stand it. The handball is something that I would consider a fundamental of Australian Rules football. They can fu** around with non-fundamentals if they must, I don't care. Kick ins, man on the mark, interchange, out of bounds, whatever. If you need to tweak that stuff for 'the good of the game' then so be it.



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Interested to hear your thoughts on this one by Pittonet too


So, is it just a Bulldogs issue or general AFL issue where the umpires clearly dont understand how to apply the rule for incorrect disposal.

I call the latter
 

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Absolutely a general issue.

So why is it so difficult for the umpires to apply the most basic rule? Same reason why the umpires are struggling with understanding them and the continuous changing of rules to improve the flow of the game, which is having a net negative impact on the game. The inherent issues of part time rules enforcers operating in a professional/full time environment.
 
So why is it so difficult for the umpires to apply the most basic rule? Same reason why the umpires are struggling with understanding them and the continuous changing of rules to improve the flow of the game, which is having a net negative impact on the game. The inherent issues of part time rules enforcers operating in a professional/full time environment.
I think it's an AFL directive to let it go.

For the AFL, they want the ball moving,
and it's my opinion that they instruct the umpires to allow it.

And, Beveridge worked this out before everyone else.


I posted ages ago after watching a Hawthorn game where St Kilda were complaining that they laid 900 tackles or something and didn't get one HTB Free Kick. My post was about it being poor coaching to instruct tacklers to full commit to a tackle, when the umpires simply don't ping guys anymore. It's stupid. You're wasting your time.

And I think it's these subtle changes in umpiring that Beveridge worked out before everyone else. Some still haven't worked it out.
 
And I think it's these subtle changes in umpiring that Beveridge worked out before everyone else. Some still haven't worked it out.

Im not a fan of it, its not good for the spectacle of the game
 
Is there any doubt now that the Dogs game plan has revolved around gaming the system and getting head high free kicks? Bevo is an absolute blight on the game.
 

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Is there any doubt now that the Dogs game plan has revolved around gaming the system and getting head high free kicks? Bevo is an absolute blight on the game.
Across the season the Bulldogs are 86 for, 72 against for high tackles.

At a rate of less than 1 additional free kick of this nature per game than the opposition, that's an odd strategy to revolve an entire game plan around don't you think?
 
Across the season the Bulldogs are 86 for, 72 against for high tackles.

At a rate of less than 1 additional free kick of this nature per game than the opposition, that's an odd strategy to revolve an entire game plan around don't you think?

The ducking for frees is only just part of it, let's also forget about the "flick passes" and "little gives" aka throws that Macrae and Libba have become quite adept at.

Personally I think the umpires have caught up to the Dogs cheating and it is a big reason why their year has been so dismal.

Why would Bevo (and you dogs supporters) be so up in arms about this change? it is a big part of how you play.
 
I'm sick of opposition clubs curtailing a proud Sydney tradition.

We were shitting on the treatment the Bulldogs get from the umpires well before it was cool and now you've got Dees fans amongst others trying to get in on it :rolleyes:
 
Is there any doubt now that the Dogs game plan has revolved around gaming the system and getting head high free kicks? Bevo is an absolute blight on the game.
Yet the free that was deemed incorrect was for Kosi Pickett.
The principal players under scrutiny seem to be Ginnivan (Collingwood) and Pickett (Melbourne)
 
Is there any doubt now that the Dogs game plan has revolved around gaming the system and getting head high free kicks? Bevo is an absolute blight on the game.

Of course Bevo would take exception to this - He has coached his team to take advantage of the rules for a long time.

I think Lavender Bushranger said it best - The afl wanted a fast style of play and Bevo took advantage of it knowing anything that kept the ball moving forward would see a blind eye (dropping the ball immediately when tackled, flicks, little gives and then separately there's a good chunk of players on the list that love a head high free kick.

I've been very disappointed with the state of umpiring, the rules, and how they are officiated for a long time. This is a step in the right direction. I can see why Bevo doesn't like it but it's a step forward in the right direction.
 

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I think @Lavender Bushranger said it best - The afl wanted a fast style of play and Bevo took advantage of it knowing anything that kept the ball moving forward would see a blind eye (dropping the ball immediately when tackled, flicks, little gives and then separately there's a good chunk of players on the list that love a head high free kick.

WB free kick stats for 2022, courtesy of champion data

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A huge differential for push in the back.
 
WB free kick stats for 2022, courtesy of champion data

1658286955417-png.1451120


A huge differential for push in the back.

Confirmation - Bevos cheating game plan is that we tackle and then proceed to turn and roll the opposition player when on the ground, therefore purposely not pushing in the back.

Bevo you dirty dog.
 
How many have you seen in other games? As many as I have?
I'm not sure how many you have seen but I think they are not being paid across the board. I think where it gets interesting is how often teams are throwing it and under what circumstances.

I think there's 2 types of throws:

1. The caught in a tackle, got an arm pinned can't really do anything else so they throw it. Not really premeditated they just got caught in a good tackle and had no other option so they try their luck. Whilst the player didn't attempt to cheat, they did throw it.

2. Then there's the premeditated, not being tackled, this will help us move the ball faster type throw. This one is cheating.

I think all teams do #1 fairly frequently. What I've noticed about the Dogs is they are big exponents of #2. I watched Treloar do it 3 times in the 1st qtr vs pies a couple of weeks ago.

Here are 2 good examples. You can see both of the throws fall into category #2 - they have other options but make a conscious decision to throw the ball. In both shots you can see the umpire has a clear view of it but makes a conscious decision not to pay a throw.



It also pisses me off that the afl media turn a blind eye - calling them "little gives" or "flicks" - What are you thoughts - Are they throws or "little gives"?
 
I'm not sure how many you have seen but I think they are not being paid across the board. I think where it gets interesting is how often teams are throwing it and under what circumstances.

I think there's 2 types of throws:

1. The caught in a tackle, got an arm pinned can't really do anything else so they throw it. Not really premeditated they just got caught in a good tackle and had no other option so they try their luck. Whilst the player didn't attempt to cheat, they did throw it.

2. Then there's the premeditated, not being tackled, this will help us move the ball faster type throw. This one is cheating.

I think all teams do #1 fairly frequently. What I've noticed about the Dogs is they are big exponents of #2. I watched Treloar do it 3 times in the 1st qtr vs pies a couple of weeks ago.

Here are 2 good examples. You can see both of the throws fall into category #2 - they have other options but make a conscious decision to throw the ball. In both shots you can see the umpire has a clear view of it but makes a conscious decision not to pay a throw.



It also pisses me off that the afl media turn a blind eye - calling them "little gives" or "flicks" - What are you thoughts - Are they throws or "little gives"?

Shocking and damning footage.
 
Wait, I thought the entire premise of this thread was based on free kicks which were being paid disproportionately towards the Bulldogs?

5th in the league for free-kicks-for this year. And the argument is still that we flop around too much and get too many free kicks 😂😂. It’s a pathetic obsession that has nothing to do with wanting to better the game.
 

I shared examples of the types of throws that are going unpaid with footage that clearly highlights the umpires have a clear view yet haven't paid them. Highly relevant to the discussion - This is a serious issue for some as it is ruining the game and it was a great example of what the dogs get up too.

I understand the footage is uncomfortable for you as it shows your team cheating, and that you don't have any excuses or witty retorts to the actual content, hence you resorted to taking a (fairly lame) swipe at me.

Can you do any better? Or is this the sort of low quality I should expect from you?
 
5th in the league for free-kicks-for this year. And the argument is still that we flop around too much and get too many free kicks 😂😂. It’s a pathetic obsession that has nothing to do with wanting to better the game.
Yes it's rather difficult to make a straight, coherent argument when the stats don't back it up.
 

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The Bulldogs and Umpires: Time for a Royal Commission?

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